Saturday, June 1, 2013

Game 56: Nats at Braves

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Gio Gonzalez faces Tim Hudson tonight at Turner Field.

ATLANTA — After a crazy Friday night that saw Stephen Strasburg get hurt and the Nationals somehow pull out a 3-2 victory, they're back at Turner Field tonight for the second game of this big weekend series with the Braves with more injury news to report: Bryce Harper has officially been placed on the 15-day DL with bursitis in his left knee. The move is retroactive to May 27, so he's eligible to return June 11 against the Rockies.

Erik Davis takes Harper's spot on the roster, adding another right-hander to a bullpen that was taxed last night because of Strasburg's early exit with an oblique strain. Neither Craig Stammen nor Tyler Clippard are expected to be available tonight, so the pressure's on Gio Gonzalez to churn out a quality start and not force Davey Johnson to turn to his bullpen early again.

It would also help if the Nationals can get something going at the plate against Tim Hudson, never an easy task. Though he's 4-4 with a 5.37 ERA overall this season, he's 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA against the Nats (16-5, 2.55 ERA in his career against the franchise).

A friendly reminder that tonight's game is on Fox. Dick Stockton and Tom Verducci have the call. Here's the coverage map (and note that parts of Virginia will not be getting this game).

7:17 p.m. — And we're underway as Tim Hudson fires strike one to Denard Span. Both clubs are wearing some pretty sweeo Negro League throwback uniforms tonight. Though I suppose they look better on some than others.

7:22 p.m. — A 1-2-3 top of the first for Hudson, though Ryan Zimmerman did smoke a line drive to right field to end the inning. Only 13 pitches for Hudson, 10 of them strikes.

7:30 p.m. — And a 1-2-3 bottom of the first for Gio Gonzalez, who struck out Jason Heyward on a 94 mph fastball and Justin Upton on an 81 mph curveball. Good stuff from the lefty, who threw 10 of 16 pitches for strikes. Scoreless after one.

7:49 p.m. — Who else but Gio Gonzalez would you expect to record the first hit tonight for either team? He's now 5-for-17 this season, a cool .294 batting average! Unfortunately, nobody else in the Nats lineup has been able to touch Hudson. So it remains scoreless as we move to the bottom of the third.

8:04 p.m. — Oh, those leadoff walks. They'll get you every time. And one got Gio in the bottom of the third. He put Dan Uggla on to begin the inning, and the set in motion a chain of events in which Uggla ultimately scored from third on Andrelton Simmons' slow roller to short. So the Braves take a 1-0 lead, moving into the fourth.

8:13 p.m. — And Fredi Gonzalez's night will last only three innings. The Braves manager just got the heave-ho from plate umpire Larry Vanover after arguing balls and strikes with Zimmerman at the plate. Can't do that, Fredi.

8:21 p.m. — And the Nats get the run right back in the top of the fourth. Steve Lombardozzi reached on Freeman's throwing error, then put on a fantastic display of hustle going first to third on Zimmerman's slow chopper to short. That set the stage for Ian Desmond, who hit a slow roller down the third-base line that looked like a sure hit only to make an abrupt left turn at the last second. Would that freak roll cost the Nats a run? No, because Desmond followed by roping a base hit to center, scoring Lombardozzi. It's 1-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

8:31 p.m. — Impressive stuff from Gio so far tonight. The Braves' Nos. 2-5 hitters (Heyward, Upton, Freeman and Gattis) are now 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. Still 1-1 after four.

8:49 p.m. — Gio had to battle his way to escape the fifth unscathed after Chris Johnson led off with a double. He managed to keep Uggla in the ballpark (barely) and then got B.J. Upton to pop out (drawing boos from the crowd) and Hudson to ground out to third (with a pretty good throw from Zimmerman to end the inning). Still 1-1, moving to the sixth.

9:00 p.m. — A chance for the Nats in the top of the sixth after Zim beat out a grounder to third and LaRoche drew a two-out walk. But Desmond went after Hudson's first pitch and lined out to right. So this remains a 1-1 game. Something's got to give eventually.

9:12 p.m. — Big-time performance from Gio tonight. Now, if somebody else could just push a run across... Onto the seventh.

9:20 p.m. — So, there have been nine total baserunners allowed by Hudson and Gonzalez tonight. What a duel. Seventh-inning stretch now.

9:27 p.m. — Another dominant inning from Gio, who retires the side and has now completed seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball on 105 pitches. That'll be it forhim, with Jeff Kobernus pinch-hitting to lead off the eighth in what still remains a 1-1 game.

9:38 p.m. — The good news: Hudson is out of the game. The bad news: The Nats still can't get anything going against the Braves bullpen. Luis Avilan gets Span and Lombardozzi to end the top of the eighth. Drew Storen in, trying to keep this a tiegame.

9:47 p.m. — A really impressive bottom of the eighth from Storen, who struck out a pair and got a groundout. He's been really sharp his last couple of times out and seems to have turned a corner. So it's onto the ninth, and here's Craig Kimbrel to face the heart of the Nats lineup in a 1-1 game.

9:52 p.m. — Golden opportunity for the Nats in the top of the ninth. Zimmerman led off with a broken-bat single. LaRoche followed with a double. So, second and third, nobody out ... and they still didn't score. Desmond struck out looking. Bernadina grounded into a 5-2 fielder's choice. And Espinosa flied out on the first pitch he saw. Unbelievable. It's still 1-1 as Fernando Abad enters for the bottom of the ninth.

10:06 p.m. — Holy moly, Abad strikes out Justin Upton and then gets Freeman to rope a liner right at Espinosa, who starts a 4-3 double play and send this game to extra innings.

10:24 p.m. — Nats lose. Rodriguez issues two walks, allows a stolen base without a throw and then B.J. Upton(?!) delivers the game-winning single to right. It's a 2-1, 10-inning loss as the Nats fall back to the .500 mark and back to 5 1/2 games behind Atlanta.

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comments:

"Rendon has played only five professional games at second base, all this season, but the feeling is that he can pick up the position quickly. It can't hurt that Syracuse manager Tony Beasley was a second baseman in his playing days."

Michelle thanks for that linkage. Knobler made good points. Again where were all of these people in the offseason calling for a Nats change at 2nd base.

In answer to some folks' question in the previous thread as to why they didn't want to give Rendon more time at 2B before this, it's a developmental thing. Due to his injuries last year, he had never played professional baseball for any extended period of time before this season, and they reasonably wanted to give him a comfort level at a familiar position for that first extended stint. Plus, coming out of ST, 3B seemed to be a bigger question mark as to health than 2B, especially given Danny's decent ST numbers.

Plus it was somewhat disruptive of that development calling Rendon up in April, thus the "let's let him settle back in Harrisburg with most of the time at 3B but start him with one out of every four or five games at second.

I think Rizzo saw no need to train Rendon at second because he always has thought that Espi was going to have a break out year and become an allstar second baseman. He thought maybe Zim would not regain his form at third. Zim looks pretty darn good these days and the hitting power is returning, too. If this team had performed the way we all thought it would, and if everyone was healthy, Rendon would not be up until September. Issues have been forced.

Anyone who usually gets our game on masn should get the game on fox. I hate their AL baseball bias, as well as their thinking that everyone in the universe cares about the yankees or the red sox. Our game has nl implications.

In other news, the Braves are now publicly speculating about sending BJ Upton to the minors. First, so glad the Nats didn't sign that guy (or trade for him in the last few years when Rizzo was rumored to be enamored).

Second, if the Braves can even think about sending a veteran with a huge contract down, why is Espinoza sacrosanct?

Nats 128 - "Again where were all of these people in the offseason calling for a Nats change at 2nd base."

Uh, me for one. I've been a big Espi supporter prior to this year, but the insane number of strikeouts in particular made it obvious where the weak link in the infield was assuming Danny did not continue to elevate his hitting. With Zim assumed to be at third for years, Rendon looked like the difference between having a solid player at 2B and potentially having a perennial All Star at the position.

And had Danny broken out this year as many of us had hoped, the Nats would have had an embarrassment of riches at the position instead of a yawning black chasm in their lineup at a time when they are in real danger of the season going down the tubes.

if the Braves can even think about sending a veteran with a huge contract down, why is Espinoza sacrosanct?

Because they have alternatives in the outfield that Rizzo doesn't think he has in the middle infield, would be my guess. Because B.J. Upton is an FNG in Atlanta, and Danny came up thru this system, so there's more loyalty there. Because they both get paid regardless, so it's really a sunk cost in any case. Just guessing.

@TexNat - great point. Espinosa has in no way earned the demotion-proof status of a long term veteran. He should have been sent down a month ago to see if he could fix whatever the heck is ailing his hitting. The reluctance to do so is baffling.

There's no virtue in being right, too soon. Just because it didn't work out does not mean it was a foregone conclusion that it couldn't. Even if it was a longshot, Rizzo felt, apparently, that it was worth taking the shot.

Kolko: Ross Detwiler (oblique) being brought along very slowly. Doing light tossing but told to shut it down if he feels anything. No timetable set

I don't at all have a problem with Ross being brought along slowly, given how we've rushed people. But it is scary to think that he had a "Very slight" strain and he's been out this long. Imagine how long Strasburg could be out for...

@Sec 3 - the guy sitting in the seat next to you at the games is a better option at the plate than Danny at this point. I've been watching baseball for 40 years and cannot recall seeing a hitter perform this poorly for this long without being removed from the lineup.

Fun fact: Adam Dunn's BA is EIGHT POINTS lower than Danny's right now, but of course he has 9 more HRs and is leading his team in RBIs. If he picks up his production even slightly he has a chance to go 30-100 while being well below the Mendoza Line. At least Adam makes his few hits COUNT.

I guess I need to start watching the O's Tigers game - sounds eventful. And I agree that there is nothing wrong with Danny going down for a bit. I don't care how confident he is, this has got to be wearing on him. If he just get out of the limelight, he could rebuild his hitting and get a re-set.John Lannan was our number one starter - once he went down to AA to get his mechanics together, last year he spent in AAA. I don't understand the hesitancy. I don't think it's the wrist or shoulder, though -- it really seems like he does not have a good sense of the strike zone.

Yeah - that's kind of why I hesitate to be too adamant about those kind of things. Once we saw how Adam could really play..... So I noticed that the Barves fans boo BJ Upton! I heard some fans here booing Zim one day -- I wanted to punch them in the face. I agree with most of you that I will only boo lollygagging. So Miguel Cabrera just hit a grannie off of the O's. Should have just walked the run in. Four homers in this inning, 9 to 1, no outs.

Because of off days, Strasburg's day can be pushed back until June 8. So that's 8 days. Still not a lot of time though. I think he probably misses that start. If we're lucky, that's the only one he misses.

We are stuck by the mediocre start; you can't rush these guys yet we need them now.

As for Espi having no value I a trade, I can not disagree more. If he were to get healthy, go down and post reasonable numbers and show he can learn then there will be a good market for him. Trick is getting him to learn or he will be the best hitter in his local beer league.

I think Stammen's stats as a starter are moot at this point. That was too long ago and he has remade himself as a pitcher. I am betting he could do better than Duke did. You wouldn't go seven with him, but he could probably go five or six. Seriously -when he pitches now he does not look anything like that pitcher from several years ago.

This weekend I'm in the part of VA where for some reason they think people are more interested in the BoSox than the Nats. Grrr. Hoping Gio can get it done tonight. Guaranteeing a series win before Karns takes the mound would be very nice indeed.

And I don't even mind seeing Espi in the starting lineup, knowing his days are numbered. It's like a dark cloud has lifted.

Who is Syracuse playing? Who is pitching - is it an old veteran or a prospect? Hard to judge whether or not he can hit at this level without knowing that. Would like to know what kind of stuff he is facing. Good fastball? Breaking stuff? Anyone know how to find out?

Much as I would look forward to Bloy8's lineup, I would worry about running Suzuki into the ground. I haven't heard a whisper about when Ramos might be back so I'm guessing at least two-three weeks. Johnson seems to forget Solano is on the bench except when he needs to waste a PH.

"Webster features a robust arsenal of pitches, including three that offer plus potential long term. His fastball sits in the low-90s with heavy sink, and he can run his four-seamer up to 95-96 mph when he needs a little extra. His size and arm angle allow him to generate excellent downward trajectory, accentuating the natural sink on his fastball and allowing him to induce plenty of ground balls. His changeup shows as a true plus-plus offering and allows him to be effective against left-handers.

Webster’s slider has taken a large step forward over the last year, now showing consistently as a plus pitch and earning even more substantial praise at times. Webster also mixes in a below-average curveball that is not a significant part of his arsenal. Control and command have never been strong points for Webster, but he has developed to the point where he can throw enough strikes to be effective. His wide arsenal of pitches suggests bigger projection than the actual package allows, but Webster should end up a solid no. 3 starter with a chance to surpass that if his command suddenly comes around."

Just turned on the game - is this Pajama Night? WTH is up with those unis? I love the Grays, but the unis have to FIT. The Barves, in comparison, have some crazy pockets going on, nut unis look like they fit.

A good hitting coach won't help a bad hitter much, but a bad hitting coach will hurt a good one. Chipper Jones was more helpful to ALR in a couple of hours than Eck was all ST and into the regular season.

I understand Rendon is playing 2b in AAA. Question: What is wrong with Lombo at 2b? this management team has blind spots for people -- which is very bad. they had a blind spot for Morse and determined he wasn't a good fit; and they obviously have that same blind spot for Lombo -- Lombo just isn't one of Davey's guys. And if you're not one of Davey's guys, you are persona non grata on this team. Very bad Very Bad

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About the Author

Mark Zuckerman has covered the Nationals since the franchise arrived in D.C. He's been a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America since 2001 and is a Hall of Fame voter. Email mzuckerman@comcastsportsnet.com.